Gina Dignon of Literacy Strategies Consulting

Professional History

What I learned in my MA program I was able to immediately put into practice in my own classroom and share with the teachers in my school. I partnered with my school's leadership to create a reading resource program, which I led for several years. interventions and support for students in grades K-8 and additionally served as the Assistant Principal, where my responsibilities included partnering with families and assisting with the school's behavior expectations.

During my tenure in the Bay Area, I became certified in Slingerland (an Orton-Gillingham-based approach) and received my Cross Language and Cultural Development (CLAD) certificate. 

In 2005, I returned to the East Coast and obtained a second MA in Reading. Over the next 15 years, I worked as a reading specialist, building-based coach, and humanities coordinator, supporting students and teachers in grades K-8. During this time, I developed a passion for literacy coaching and created a collaborative environment where county coaches could meet as professionals, share successes, and troubleshoot issues. 

Leading

Much of my teaching career is intertwined with educational leadership. In my various roles across the educational spectrum, I have often been asked to create or carve out new positions and collaborate with teachers and administrators to design curriculum and professional learning, all while keeping up to date with the most current research in literacy. 

In my tenure as a literacy leader, I have contributed to the design of ELA and Humanities curricula for grades K-8, implemented embedded professional learning through coaching, and developed multi-tiered systems of support. I have also helped schools and districts analyze data and created additional opportunities to gather key qualitative data from students about their literacy development.

Certifications and Degrees Held

• Connecticut Intermediate Administrator (092)
• Connecticut Language Arts Consultant (097), Grades 1-12
• Connecticut Remedial Reading & Language Arts (102), Grades 1-12
• Connecticut Elementary Credential (013), Grades K-6
• California Cultural Language and Development Certificate (CLAD)
  

Feedback from Participants

"Gina was lovely. Her manner of treating and speaking to us as professionals was appreciated! She respected what we had to say and the true writing difficulties our students face in the classroom. She was understanding and helpful in her responses to our concerns. She is very thoughtful and an excellent coach."

Lisa Geronimo

Special Education Teacher

Middletown, NJ

"Gina went above and beyond to customize each session for us. Not only was she receptive to what we wanted to work on as a school this year, but she was also ready to provide us with choices within each grade level session on each of our four days with her. Additionally, she was flexible in letting teachers decide whether we should visit lab site locations or bring students to our meeting room when it was time to practice small group instruction. Our teachers appreciated this responsiveness, and that helped all of us develop our practice in teaching small groups. As a Reading Specialist, I always looked forward to our debrief sessions and found Gina to be very grounded in best practices and the reality of the challenges we face as elementary writing teachers. I value her advice, feedback, and perspective."

Lisa McCarthy

Reading Development Teacher

Middletown, NJ

"I also cannot say enough about Gina and Jaclyn, as I have tremendous respect for their unwavering commitment to keeping us aligned, offering clear guidance on feedback and expectations, and being readily accessible for spontaneous check-ins."

Genevieve LaGuttata

Assistant Superintendent

Cold Spring Harbor, NY

"I'm looking forward to using the calendar we created with Gina next year with my two 9th-grade lab classes. We've enjoyed working with Gina so much. She is very good at what she does and we hope to continue with her next year."

April Henry

English Teacher

Cold Spring Harbor, NY

"Working with Gina and the team at Literacy Strategies Consulting has greatly improved our students' literacy skills. Each professional development session is tailored to the needs of our students. We begin by working collaboratively to analyze student work to determine each child's present performance levels. We then plan our instructional next steps, which are always grounded in research and current educational pedagogy. The work that we have done within grade-level lab sites has transformed our teaching practices. We have enhanced our professional capital while also improving student outcomes."

MaryBeth Crupi 

Director of Teaching and Learning

King School 

Stamford, CT